KDs are designed/developed/inspired/mused/auto-suggested/indigested to make folks think; an especially uncommon experience among Democrats, Republicans, and jingoistic mainline denominationalists who continue to discourage dissent with their ever-threatening thought police.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Shepherding

If I were a betting man which I am not, I would wager
Psalm 23 and John 3:16 are the most memorized verses of the Bible.

Both generate calm certainty about God’s existential
and eternal care; or as Eugene Peterson wrote, “The sooner we get the message,
the better off we’ll be, for the message is good: God is here, and He’s on our
side…God is here right now, and on our side, actively seeking to help us in the
way we most need help…God is passionate to save us.”

John 3:16 is a concise summary of God’s love
in Jesus that guarantees the eternal after the existential by grace through
faith; and whoever embraces Him experiences confident living in knowing the
heavenly follows the last breath in time.

Psalm 23 spells out His existential and
eternal care.

“The Lord is my shepherd.”

God’s love for us is compared to a shepherd’s
care for sheep.

Sheep are notoriously – and please remember I
don’t write ‘em; just read ‘em – stupid.They wander off from what’s good for ‘em and always get into trouble
when apart from the shepherd’s guidance and protection.

Shepherds – and keep in mind that God as
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the Good Shepherd and all who love Him by
loving like Him are His undershepherds – live to guide and protect the
sheep.

Referring to Himself as the Good Shepherd and
undershepherds who love Him by loving like Him, read John 10:1-18 to flesh
out undershepherding as patterned perfectly by Jesus.

God provides as well as guides and
protects.Green pastures represent
places of rest, renewal, and nourishment.Still waters connote unhurried satiating contentment.Depleted by the meanness, madness, misery,
and miscreance of living in a fallen world, God regenerates our emotional,
intellectual, and spiritual wholeness, happiness, joy, safety, and security.

“He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.”

Jesus provides the perfect pattern – way and
truth leading to abundant life in time and forever – for a right relationship
with God.His example and instructions
are intended to inspire us into greater intimacy with God and His will;
resulting, as Don Skarr likes to say, in a life that sins less.Though we can never be pure and perfect in
every way or sinless, always needing Lord Jesus as Savior, we can be more
better and sin less; resulting in an undeniable equation: more holy
= more happy.

God does this “for His name’s sake” because
His reputation is at risk juxtaposed to the existential and eternal welfare of
people who trust Him from here to eternity; which is why I often pray, “Lord,
bless Your people so those who are not Your people take notice of how You bless
Your people and then turn to You!As
Your people live triumphantly with strong calm sanity no matter who, what,
where, when, or why, Your reputation as true God in Jesus to save
increases!So bless, bless, bless for
Your glory, laud, and honor to hasten the day when every tongue confesses Jesus
is Lord and Savior and every knee bows before Him as One with Father and
Spirit.”

“Though I walk through the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil.You are with
me.Your rod and staff comfort me.”

While the world is filled with dangerous
“shadows” and dark conspiracies to hinder and hurt God’s flock, He is with us
and provides the weapons for combat – rod and staff – to keep count so none are
lost, guide so none lose their way, rescue those so prone to wander off into
the pits of life, and protect us from predators.

“You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies.You anoint my
head with oil.My cup overflows.”

Even when surrounded by enemies of God who
are enemies of anyone related to Him by grace through faith in Jesus, God’s
family feels/is safe, sane, strong, and secure; or as Betsy said to sister
Corrie ten Boom while dying in a concentration camp, “We must go everywhere and
tell everyone that no pit is so deep that God is not deeper still!”

Anointing oil has always been a symbol of
rejoicing related to feeling/being esteemed, guided, and protected.Intimate with God, we feel/are blessed
existentially and eternally beyond expectations: “My cup overflows.”

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
all the days of my life.I will dwell in
the house of the Lord forever.”

Summarizing the preceding verses, anyone intimate with God
knows His guidance and protection “on earth as it is in heaven” with
irrepressible confident living in the assurance of eternal life.

Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper, a
movie about legendary Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle, includes one of the
best expositions of Matthew 10:16 within the context of Psalm 23 and John
3:16.Wayne Kyle says to his sons,
“There are three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves, and
sheepdogs.Some people prefer to believe
that evil doesn’t exist in the world…they…[don’t]…know how to protect
themselves.Those are the sheep….Then
you’ve got the predators who use violence to prey on the weak…wolves…and then
there are those blessed…with an overpowering need to protect the flock…who live
to confront the wolf…sheepdogs.”

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who guides and
protects the flock; and women and men who love Him by loving like Him – undershepherds
– model their guiding and protecting lives and ministries after Him.It’s not enough to heal wounds.Godly people prevent wounds.